He stood up suddenly, with everyone except Goddard watching him.
"If it pleases the court, in view of the evidence given by the last prosecution witness, I feel that one of my witnesses is really more suited to be a prosecution witness."
Napier sat bolt upright, as though Ramage had suddenly stood on his head.
"A prosecution witness?"
"Yes, sir."
"I hope you know what you are doing!"
"Yes, sir."
Goddard stood up suspiciously.
"Who are you proposing as a prosecution witness?"
Ramage passed Yorke's card to Syme who, without glancing at it, walked over to give it to Goddard.
"On second thoughts, sir," Ramage said to Napier, "the second of my witnesses is also better suited to the prosecution's case - I am assuming of course, the court wishes to get at the truth of the charges."
Napier raised both hands in a despairing gesture, as if it was all beyond him.
Ramage handed the Duke's card to Syme, who dutifully gave it to the Admiral.
"Is that all?" Napier asked.
"The prosecution could have the third witness if it wished, sir."
There was a gasp from several people and Ramage looked round at Goddard. He had collapsed across his chair; his face was grey and he seemed to be panting for breath. The swine is having a fatal convulsion, Ramage thought coldly; he'll escape me yet!
Croucher ran from his seat to help Hobson, who was trying to lift Goddard's bulk squarely on to the chair.
"Send for the surgeon," Napier snapped.
Goddard was clutching his chest and fighting for breath and Croucher ripped at the stock, finally untying it. The seven captains watched without leaving their seats and on deck Ramage heard men shouting, passing the word for the surgeon.
The Admiral was gasping for breath, as though being strangled, and Ramage suddenly pictured himself, a noose round his neck, being hanged from the fore-yardarm. If the sudden jerk did not break his neck, he too would be fighting for breath just like that. He glanced at the captains seated round the table. Their faces were impassive; each had seen death too often to get excited.
At that moment the surgeon arrived with his assistant and went straight to Goddard, who was by now ashen-faced but conscious, taking great gulping breaths and making an effort to sit upright. Croucher whispered something to the surgeon who, without bothering to examine the Admiral, went over and spoke quietly to Captain Napier, who nodded.
The surgeon gave brief instructions and his assistant, Hobson and two other officers who had been sitting at the back of the court, lifted the Admiral and carried him from the cabin.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Napier rapped the table.
"The court stands adjourned until tomorrow at half past eight in the forenoon. The accused will remain in the custody of the provost marshal."
Ramage stood up wearily as Ransom tapped him on the shoulder. The cabin was hot and his clothes seemed to stick to his body like wet pastry. His sword was still on the table. He'd gambled, and unless Admiral Goddard died between now and this time tomorrow morning, Ramage feared that he might have lost. As he followed Ransom out of the cabin, he admitted to himself that he ought to have followed Yorke's advice.
The little cabin on board the Lion was like an oven, although the door was open. Even the canvas stretched over battens to form bulkheads seemed to exude heat. Ramage had stripped off his shirt and sat in his breeches, naked from the waist up.
An hour after Ransom had brought him to the cabin and shut the door, giving loudly-spoken orders to the Marine sentry, he had been surprised when a lieutenant came with a message from Captain Croucher to the effect that he was to be treated as a prisoner at large. It was a pleasant gesture, even if in practice it meant simply having the door open and no sentry outside. If he wanted to he could roam the ship - but that meant having every man on board staring at him, and Ramage preferred to stay in the cabin.
He was just mopping the perspiration from his chest with a towel when one of the ship's lieutenants appeared at the door. "Visitors for you, Ramage."
A moment later he saw Southwick and Yorke peering into the darkness of the cabin, their eyes still dazzled by the bright sun on deck.
"Is this a cabin or a clothes locker?" Yorke inquired quizzically.
"Stay out there a moment while I get dressed," Ramage said shortly. "I'm a prisoner at large, so we can take a turn on deck."
Five minutes later the three men were standing on deck in the shade of the awning, looking across at the town of Kingston and thankful for a gentle Trade wind breeze that did its best to keep them cool.
"He went on shore after about an hour," Southwick said without any preliminaries. "Just him and that whipper-snapper Hobson. He'd got his colour back. Couldn't have been anything serious, otherwise they'd have kept him on board the Arrogant, or the surgeon would have gone with him in the yawl."
"Sounds as if it was a touch of the vapours," Yorke said blithely. "Had an old aunt who had an attack like that just as the Bishop of Lincoln was getting out of his coach to kiss her hand. One of the horses broke wind, and she thought it was the Bishop."
"Must be the same sort of thing," Ramage said. "It happened just as Goddard read the name on your visiting card."
"Whatever it was," Southwick said sourly, "it wasn't fatal, and that's all that matters. What's the next move, sir?"
"When the court convenes again tomorrow morning, Goddard will withdraw the charges. We've been over all that once."
"But will he get away with it, sir?" Southwick asked.
"I'll bet the deputy judge advocate is looking up all the precedents he can find, and Admiral Goddard is probably talking it all over with Sir Pilcher Skinner."
"Curious thing is that no one's come to La Perla" Yorke said. "Once the secret was out the Duke sent a formal letter to the Governor, telling him that he'd arrived but was staying on board until your court martial ends, in case he can be of help."
"That's kind of him," Ramage said. But he knew there had not been time enough for anyone on shore to react to the news that, far from being dead, the Duke of Brittany was in the anchorage on board a tiny captured Spanish schooner.
Yorke glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot.
"Listen, do you really think Goddard will withdraw the charges now? What's to stop him going ahead, and as soon as the Duke and I have given our evidence, just get up and say it's all been a mistake? That if he'd been able to talk to us earlier, the charges wouldn't have been laid? That it simply appeared Lieutenant Ramage had behaved in a cowardly way, but now of course ... and so on?"
Ramage suddenly realized that neither Southwick nor Yorke knew the extent of the evidence given in court that morning.
"If you were going to give evidence tomorrow, I suppose I shouldn't tell you this," he said, "but since you won't, I can talk freely. Captain Croucher this morning gave evidence on oath - in answer to questions from Admiral Goddard - that after the Peacock attack, you went on board the Lion and accused me of cowardice."
"Good God, what a lie! I can prove-"
"But you won't be giving evidence," Ramage said. "Not only did you accuse me, but to my face and in front of Admiral Goddard, and in-"
"But that's monstrous!" Yorke exclaimed angrily.